People like Tsutomu Nihei, who did the depressing and claustrophobic manga - even though it is set in a Dyson Sphere SPOILER! - Blame!, Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come) with his eye and appreciation for the classic and the old, Inoue Takehiko for the intensity, the passion and the hardcore work ethic.

Eiichiro Oda (One Piece) who showed that a set style can also be reinterpreted, and old art movements like the baroque and the rennaissance can be reinjected into manga, which was becoming more rigid and repetitive.

Of course, the greats like Go Nagai and Osamu Tezuka. Go simply for demonstrating how to tap into raw emotion of lust, wrath and the old ultra-violence. Osamu for the detail and care as well as the heart in his work.

Inoue Takehiko (SlamDunk, Vagabond), for demonstrating what evolution of styles is all about, quietly, with a thunderous work of art that is Vagabond.

Kentaro Miura (Berserk) for showing that horror is not just an ugly face in the dark, but resides in all our hearts. And how dreams and nightmares are only separated by a very thin membrane.

Also filmmakers Takashi Miike (Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, The Happiness of the Katakuris), for showing how diverse one theme (family) can be intepreted and reintrepeted, Michael Jai White(fuck Spawn! This guy did Black Dynamite!) and Chris Rock (Pootie Tang) for demonstrating the best use of stupidity mankind has ever seen.

Stephen Chow Sing Chi, for defining my childhood.

BJ Ward and a host of '80s voice actors who gave life to various cartoon characters. Billy West, Katey Sagal, Maurice LaMarche, Megumi Hayashibara. All these voice actors taught me to listen.

@amirhimself

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Amir Hafizi is the sexiest man on Earth. His chest is as thick as any redwood trunk; from which hangs two great boughs of heavily muscled arms and one minor but strong branch of solid wood somewhere down there.